Little Rock travels to Charleston, Illinois, on Saturday to face Eastern Illinois in an Ohio Valley Conference matchup, with both teams currently holding losing records in both overall and conference play.
The Trojans enter the game with a 10-16 overall record and a 7-8 mark in the OVC, although the Panthers are 10-16 overall and 6-9 in conference games. Eastern Illinois has found success at home, posting an 8-4 record at First Mid Court at Lantz Arena. Little Rock is sixth in the OVC in offensive rebounding, averaging 10.0 per game, led by Cameron Wallace who averages 3.3 offensive rebounds.
Eastern Illinois is shooting 42.9% from the field this season, a figure that is 3.3 percentage points lower than the 46.2% Little Rock allows to its opponents. Little Rock, on average, scores 70.5 points per game, slightly more than the 70.2 points Eastern Illinois concedes.
Zion Fruster leads the Panthers in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game, alongside 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Kooper Jacobi has averaged 10.2 points and 6.1 rebounds over the last ten games for Eastern Illinois. For Little Rock, Johnathan Lawson is the leading scorer with an average of 16.5 points per game, shooting 40.1% from the field, while Braxton Bayless has averaged 13.5 points over his last ten appearances.
The Panthers have been involved in several close contests, holding a 1-1 record in games decided by a single possession. Over their last ten games, Eastern Illinois has gone 4-6, averaging 67.7 points, 29.2 rebounds, 11.5 assists, 8.0 steals, and 2.5 blocks per game, while shooting 43.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.5 points during that stretch. Little Rock has also gone 4-6 in its last ten games, averaging 71.1 points and 31 rebounds.
Saturday’s game marks the first conference matchup between the two teams this season. The game is scheduled to tip off at 4:30 p.m. EST.
